Monday, June 6, 2016

Where Republicans Stand on Donald Trump: A Cheat Sheet

How do you solve a problem like The Donald? For Republicans and conservatives, the time for hoping Trump would simply burn himself out, collapse, and go away is over. Now they have to figure out what they’ll do: Sign up with Trump in the name of party unity, and distaste for Hillary Clinton? Or risk alienating the Republican nominee and reject him?

Speaker Paul Ryan has made his choice: He’s backing Trump, the Wisconsinite writes in a column for his hometown paper. That’s big news not only because Ryan is the leader of the House and the party’s intellectual figurehead, but also because he conspicuously refused to back Trump early on, saying he still had reservations. Those comments, delivered live on CNN, stirred up a fight between Trump and Ryan, followed by conciliatory meetings.

[...]

It’s unclear what makes Ryan so confident that Trump will stick to his word. The entertainer has shown himself to be conspicuously flexible on policy, but he has also argued stridently against cutting entitlements, which is one of Ryan’s major goals. (The column doesn’t mention entitlements, Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.)

As the chaotic and failed attempts to stop Trump over the 10 months have shown, there’s no obviously right choice for how conservatives should respond. But which choice are people making? Here’s a list of some major figures and where they stand on Trump—right now. We’ll keep it updated as other important people take stances, or as these ones change their views about Trump.

George W. Bush: ABSTAIN
The former president “does not plan to participate in or comment on the presidential campaign,” an aide told the Texas Tribune. (May 4, 2016)

George H.W. Bush: ABSTAIN
“At age 91, President Bush is retired from politics. He came out of retirement to do a few things for Jeb, but those were the exceptions that proved the rule,” an aide told the Texas Tribune. (May 4, 2016) ...